


Trolling

by Daecus



Series: New Age [2]
Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Gen, New Age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2013-06-24
Packaged: 2018-02-09 06:48:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1972959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daecus/pseuds/Daecus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Warning: Spoilers! If you've already watched the episode, "Thirst," for TFP, you're good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trolling

     SCANNING FOR CNA CONSTITUENTS... LOCATED!

     2 [PREDACON PARTS] FOUND. COORDINATES LOCKED.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

        Pleased from the surmounting progress, Jetstream energetically pushed himself off of his chair, speculating possible ways to neutralize the tracking beacons on the Predacon parts so no surprise guests would storm in on his would-be leisurely grocery run. He regretted having destroyed the previous tracker, but he also established that it was for the sake of stealth, a crucial part of working in the shadows. He concluded that if he was able to locate the CNA constituents easily, so could the other Decepticons. Scanning for constituents, however, was only partial to certain Predacon parts that had approximately ninety percent of the cybernetic nucleic acid arrangements in common with the original strain, so he would not know which of his scans overlapped with the Decepticons' scans.

        Jetstream loved to solve puzzles such as these; a circumstance in which there were many variables gave him a good challenge. They mitigated his rampant thirst for information and knowledge by making him focus on more complex tasks, both reinforcing previous experiences and adding new skills to his growing array of abilities. Yet, Jetstream could only get so far when working alone. He usually progressed pretty far before getting stumped, but he would sometimes reach a dead end and would have to frustratingly start from square one.

        _Well, the life of a lone scientist is never an easy one,_ Jetstream reasoned. It was not that he was lonely, it just would have been more helpful with other heads brainstorming on the same problem, undoubtedly a more efficient approach.

        To this, he simply shrugged and performed more calculations as he set to work on an electronic neutralizer, which would basically create a dead spot for all incoming signals until turned off. The engineering part was easy, but it was the possible run-ins with other Cybertronians that Jetstream was worried about.

        He hummed an old classical tune as he welded away, lost in some nebulous thought under the soft melancholy light of the Spirit, what would seem like a spotlight directed on the sad sight of a lone spark, but he never took any notice to the emptiness. He was too busy humming the old Cybertronian melody whose origins were about as obscured as his.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "Yo, there's another signal!" a peppy girl named Miko called out as she pointed to the screen. Sure enough, a pinging dot faded in and out on the computerized map, indicating the location of the occurrence.

        "Smokescreen, Bulkhead, I would like you two to investigate," said Optimus Prime.

        "Yes, sir," Smokescreen acknowledged with a salute.

        "Don't worry, Optimus. We won't come back empty-handed this time," the huge green Autobot named Bulkhead reassured optimistically. Optimus simply nodded as Ratchet opened the ground bridge.

        As the newest rookie and the heavy-weight Wrecker disappeared through the swirling vortex, Optimus looked on with a weathered gaze. He always worried about his fellow Autobots whenever they embarked on a mission, but he never showed his concern for the sake of appearing confident and so the others would not worry. The passing of Cliffjumper, a red Autobot who partnered with Arcee, did little to assuage his fears of his team members never making their ways back to the base again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Jetstream looked up at his ringing monitor rather annoyed. He always hated when something interrupted his work. He knew that disturbances were unavoidable, but they were always popping up at the most inopportune moments.

        Jet's frown shrank as he tested the signal neutralizer, which worked flawlessly so far as he could see. If anything, this occasion gave him the opportunity to test the neutralizer in-field. This would help him work out any kinks in the device's operation.

        Jet tapped in commands on the Spirit's terminal and opened a space bridge to an area a little ways north of the Decepticon activity. He decided to turn his new device on once he got there in order to break any communications, should he be spotted by anyone. He would terminate anyone who saw him before they reached extraction to tell about it.

        He whistled for three Buggers to follow him before he walked through the portal and covered his face with the hard glass casing that sheltered his optics and metal face mask.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "Alright, everyone. Move your chasses so we can get done and get back to the Nemesis. I've got some scratches that need buffing," a red Aston Martin Decepticon named Knockout waved his electrified spear as a threat to any Vehicons who dared to work slow enough to incite his ire.  
        Knockout relished the fact that Lord Megatron picked him to oversee the mining operations over that traitor, Starscream. Starscream had chosen to blame him for a mishap that occurred on board the Nemesis when it was, in fact, the seeker's fault for suggesting he use dark energon in addition to the unstable strain of energon he had found, courtesy of Ratchet, the Autobots' medic who almost bled out in one of their mines, on their test subject, the human Silas who had dissected the Sportscon's partner Breakdown. In the end, Silas erupted into an energon-thirsty rage, escaped captivity, and made a mess of the place. It was not Knockout's fault that Starscream had pushed him to inject the two energon strains.

        Such was the mentality of Decepticons, always blaming others for mistakes, even if they were partially at fault, an aspect that Jetstream loved to hate. Although he did not know about the Decepticons' previous zombie problem, he had been with them long enough to know that they were all pretty much the same.

        He analyzed the situation carefully, planning his every move. On the plus side, he had the element of surprise, but there were multiple contacts to take care of.

        _Let's see, there're ten total, excluding what seems to be the leader of operations at the moment._ Jetstream pondered behind cover before deciding to move out. He started to take a step, but then he heard a commotion in another direction. He looked immediately to his scanner before he realized it: his neutralizer blocked any signals that his scanner would track. _Not again..._ Jet was getting tired of his own incompetence. He was too used to the comfort of a scanner.

        He looked up again to see two Autobots, a small blue and yellow Sportsbot and a large bulky one, charging towards the Decepticons.

        _This can't be good,_ Jet thought as he slipped away out of sight to wait out who to see who the winner was. Things just got a bit more complicated.

        Both Autobots were blasting away at the Decepticons. There was a crash as the blue and yellow Sportsbot engaged the red Aston Martin first. The other Decepticons were about to attack him, but the other Autobot got to them first. The Wrecker made short work of the drones as if they were simply piles of scrap waiting to be pounded. Jet could tell that the Sportsbot was quite inexperienced in combat by the way he fought in hand-to-hand combat. He swung a right hook, which was easily deflected by the spear. Knockout grabbed the 'Bot, swinging him over his head and tossing him onto the ground on his back. The 'Con took his chance and stabbed the 'Bot, giving him a painful shock.

        This was when the massive green Autobot roared and charged at the smaller Aston Martin mech. Startled, the red 'Con was unprepared for the Wrecker's blow as he swung the wrecking ball-like melee weapon attached to his arm and smashed it into the Decepticon's chest. The 'Con was thrown back, bouncing as he hit the ground, but he recovered to transform into Vehicular Mode.

        "Back up! I need back up!" the Decepticon screeched into his comm, but there was no answer. "Scrap!" he cursed as Jet smiled. His signal neutralizer was working like a charm.

        The Wrecker looked back to check on his comrade, but the blue and yellow Sportsbot waved him off. "I'm fine. I'll get the remains," he called. The Wrecker nodded, and he transformed into an all-terrain vehicle to chase the red Decepticon, who was quickly disappearing into the distance.

        The remaining Decepticons turned their attention to Smokescreen as he stood up. Although the green Wrecker had thinned their numbers, they still outnumbered the Sportsbot by five. Nevertheless, the blue sports car jumped up, making the first move. He planted his foot on one Vehicon's head before shooting another one's head off. It's head blew up in a shower of sparks. He hopped off of the one he had stepped on and knocked the dazed Vehicon off-balance. The 'Bot swung the grounded Vehicon by the feet and knocked down a couple of others. He then shot the others who were still standing. However, the three that were knocked down recovered more quickly than the Autobot had expected, for they returned the favor and had him on the ground in just a few seconds. They were surely going to end him.

        Without thinking, Jetstream charged his heat laser and slashed the beam horizontally, extinguishing all three Vehicons' sparks. _Scrap._ What was happening to him? He was getting careless, but it was better for the Autobots to obtain the Predacon remains in order to deny the 'Cons another Predacon to add to their arsenal.

        When Jet heard footsteps coming towards him, he released his Buggers with the orders to repair the Autobot and give him the Predacon remains after they unearthed it. Hopefully, the Autobot was dim-witted enough to think that the Buggers fired the laser and not suspect that it was another Cybertronian. It did work, as the Autobot was wary at first, but confusedly lowered his weapons when he realized that nothing was attacking him. The Buggers dropped the remains in the Autobot's hands after they had scanned it and flew off. Jet snuck away under the cover of tall foliage to return to the spot where he last activated his space bridge. He let the Buggers enter first before he stepped into the portal, leaving the befuddled Sportsbot to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "I swear, I'm telling you the truth! These bugs just flew out after firing a huge laser that killed all three 'Cons, repaired my damage, and plopped the part at my feet." The blue and yellow Autobot known as Smokescreen shrugged his shoulders.

        "Really? What did they look like?" Arcee tested. The two-wheeler wondered if the bugs that Smokescreen had seen were the same as the one she and Bumblebee had seen on their run-in with Starscream. She glanced towards Bumblebee's direction. Sure enough, he was listening intently to their conversation.

        "Well, they looked kind of like beetles, but they were really big. Well, by Earth standards, anyways." Smokescreen gestured to the humans lounging on a couch. "They were black and dark blue, um, what else? I didn't get to see much of them before they flew off." Then, Smokescreen mumbled, "I also thought I saw a blur of movement somewhere else, but I may have just been seeing things..."

        {Then they're the same as the one we found on our excursion,} Bumblebee concluded. Everyone looked at him, their attention piqued.

        "So, you both encountered the same type of beetle in two completely different locations?" Raf asked. "But there aren't any existing species here on Earth that live in both of those areas..."

        "That's because they were mechanical. I could tell that they ran on energon, so they're Cybertronian, I think," Smokescreen said thoughtfully.

        "Optimus, can you think of anything that could be a cause for this? Any friends in high places you never mentioned?" Arcee asked.

        "Hm, not that I can think of. However, this recurrence is quite strange." The gears in Optimus's head were really grinding; he had no idea as to what could have caused this phenomenon.

        "Yeah, that's right. Everything's been getting easier, like on our last mission, it was as if all the Decepticons disappeared from the dig site, where the Predacon part was only half-buried," Wheeljack added.

        "That means that someone else also doesn't like the Decepticons," a human, the most capable of the three children, named Jack, concluded.

        "That would be a sound assumption. Autobots, be on the lookout for new Autobot activity or transmissions," Optimus ordered. He never would have thought that it was actually an ex-Decepticon who was assisting them behind the lines.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Knockout, the red Aston Martin Decepticon, hurried to the Nemesis's bridge, skipping the buffing that he had so looked forward to before the Autobots ruined his day.

        "You've failed me, Knockout. I'm beginning to think that Starscream's streak of failures is becoming a contagious disease," Megatron admonished.

        Knockout, grasping for some type of comeback so he would not be compared to the likes of Starscream, noted, "Perhaps today was my off day. Maybe next time-"

        "There won't be a next time if you keep failing me. I'm beginning to think that you're losing your worth." Knockout gulped as he realized that Megatron was hinting at possibly terminating him.

        "I-I won't fail you next time," Knockout tried to say assuredly.

        "Mhm, we'll see, Knockout," was all that was offered as consolation to the now anxiety-stricken Aston Martin. He would have a whole scrap heap more to worry about other than his dinged finish if he kept losing to the Autobots.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Jetstream connected one of his buggers to the Spirit's main frame in order to get the Predacon scans into the database so he could scan for constituents once more. Three more blips appeared on a hologram of the planet as his scanner finished. Now that the next locations were taken care of, he focused on fine tuning his signal neutralizer, which he fixed to only mask his energon signal, as well as his Buggers'.

        He then went off to the least-populated Predacon destinations to do what he did best: thwart Decepticon plans without them even knowing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Over the course of the past few weeks, there had been little activity in terms of scavenging for Predacon parts, not to mention that more than a few of the Decepticon energon mines had been raided and blown up for inexplicable reasons. Lord Megatron was getting absolutely livid. He pestered even his lead scientist, Shockwave, demanding an explanation for the halt in progress. After he had told Megatron that there were supposed to be more Predacons, all Shockwave could do to console him was offer him the progress that was already occurring in terms of the parts that they already had in the off-site incubation chambers. Soundwave, Megatron's trusted Communications Officer, scrambled to get any results from scanning. He had barely come up with a couple of coordinates, which only turned out to be severed tracking devices, lacking parts to be attached to. Megatron would quickly turn the Nemesis upside down in a blind rage if they could not retrieve something soon.

        Finally, respite came one day. They received a blip: just one, but it was enough. Megatron deployed a larger number of troops than usual and went to oversee things himself to make sure no one screwed it up and possibly also so he could meet with the trickster who was behind all of this and give him what-for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "I'm getting a large energon reading. There's a large procession of Decepticons gathering," the Autobot medic, Ratchet, interpreted. "I suggest taking the whole group."

        Optimus nodded. "Autobots, the size of the Decepticon threat is too great for a small group to extract the Predacon remains. We must all go," he repeated. He looked towards Ratchet. "Ratchet, stay here to man the ground bridge. Prepare for any casualties."

        "Woohoo!" Miko cheered. She loved to go along on missions, behind Optimus's back, of course.

        "No, Miko. You stay here along with Rafael and Jack. Rafael, man the ground bridge. Jack, make sure no one does anything-" Optimus paused to look at Miko. "-insubordinate."

        "Aw." Miko crossed her arms. She would sneak out, as usual, though. She clandestinely asked Wheeljack if she could come along and was met with little hesitation.

        "And I'm coming, too. The Feds just called, and they wanna know just what is so important about this particular bone," said Agent Fowler, an FBI agent who had been assigned to oversee the Autobots' actions.

        "Are you sure, Agent Fowler?" Optimus questioned, concerned for the human's possible well-being.

        "Positive. I'll be in a stealth plane, so I won't be detected easily," Fowler cracked his knuckles.

        "Very well," Optimus Prime conceded.

        As soon as the Autobots were ready, Optimus gave his trademark command, "Autobots, roll out!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        It was supposed to be a quick job: get in and get out. That was all Jetstream had to do, but just after he had finished scanning the Predacon remains and was about to destroy them, a ground bridge opened up near his position. Jet quickly charged his heat laser and vaporized the Predacon bone, but not before Megatron spotted him in the act.

        "Oh, scrap," Jet managed to say before Megatron fired his laser blaster. Jet instinctively rolled to the right, jumped off a cliff, and hit the ground running. _I wish I'd spent more time on that camouflage array!_ Jetstream lamented. It would surely have helped him lose the Flyers that were quickly gaining on him. Jet could not get a clear shot, so he rolled into a kneeling position and aimed carefully. Unflinching even when laser blasts rained down from the sky, Jetstream took each Flyer down one by one. After the last of the Flyers in sight had fallen, he resumed running, trying to activate his space bridge to open at his position.

        _Why isn't it working?_ Jetstream wondered, but remembered: his signal neutralizer was veiling his position to his ship. Jet grumbled again at his mistake then-

        _BAM!_ An energon pulse hit him in the back, sending him spiraling off the ground. He needed to get an Avian Mode and fast. He heard shouts coming from behind him. The ground-bound Decepticon Troopers were catching up. With effort, Jet stood up and took off running again. He looked behind him, hearing tires burning rubber. Not good.

        "Ooof!" Jet ran into something. He looked up to see the group of seven Autobots aiming their weapons at him. Well, six, since he'd just run into one of them. "Eh, sorry," he unconsciously muttered before getting up. He simply jumped over the group and headed away from both the Autobots and Decepticons. _That should put the Autobots between me and the 'Cons,_ the tiring ex-'Con thought.

        That was when a group of Flyers landed in front of him. He skidded to a halt. He would have to take care of them the old-fashioned way. He knew he was out of practice, but one did not need much fighting experience to deal with drones. Jet extended his claws and punctured the head of the closest Decepticon. He then flung the detached head at one of the Flyer's friends, knocking his back. He used this momentary distraction to shoot a laser through his spark chamber. Jet flipped backwards to dodge the poorly-aimed shots coming from the other Decepticons.

        _Where did you guys learn to shoot?_ Jet bemusedly posed the question in his head as he shot each one's head off. He saw the Troopers drive up in the corner of his eye. Not allowing any time for them to transform before engaging, Jet jumped in the air and landed on one of them, still in Vehicle Mode. He stabbed the sports car with his claws, extinguishing its spark. As the others transformed, he rushed to the next one, grabbing it by the base of the head and flipping it over his head onto the ground. He used the same Trooper, still alive and kicking, as a shield against the incoming fire as he returned the shots with well-aimed, charged laser beams. After he had taken the others down, he kicked his mech shield and shot him in the back.

        As he looked around for any other opponents, he noticed that the group of Autobots was staring at him. "Impressive," Wheeljack mouthed to Bulkhead.

        _Scrap._ Jet realized that he been discovered by both the Autobot and Decepticon forces. There would be no anonymity, anymore. He scrutinized the sky for some way out, then he saw it: a stealth plane flying above. Perfect.

        As Jet scanned the aircraft, Agent Fowler lost control of his stealth jet momentarily, an effect of Cybertronian scanning. "Aw, not again!" Agent Fowler moaned, as more than one Decepticon had scanned American military technology due to his presence. When he had regained control of his jet, he pursued Jetstream, but was surprised at the Decepticon air forces coming in tow behind him. "What in the Sam Hill is going on?"

        Jet suddenly sky-rocketed upwards in his new form, gracefully arcing into the sky, then tilted backwards to bypass Fowler. From his upside down tactical position, he simply aimed his lasers in one spot and held the stream of metal-melting heat while the incoming Decepticons held too much inertia to slow down to avoid their demise. Parts of eviscerated Flyers rained down on the Autobots as Jet glided effortlessly across the sky. To avoid any more mishaps, Jetstream opened a space bridge under cloud cover and seemed to disappear within thin air to the Autobots.

        "That," Optimus Prime broke in, "must have been our 'friend from a high place.' "

        "Wha-What happened? I blinked," a confused Smokescreen wondered.

        "Optimus, do you read? Optimus!" a concerned Ratchet rang out over Optimus's comm.

        "I read you," Optimus responded.

        "Oh, thank goodness. I've been trying to reach you, but something was blocking your signals, so I couldn't get to you."

        "All is well, Ratchet, but what is the status of the Predacon?" Optimus questioned.

        "It's gone. The signal's not there anymore. The signal should've come back after

yours did."

        "Understood. Autobots, search the area."

        As they did, Megatron flew high above them, out of sight from the group. With the majority of his armada destroyed by the mystery guest, he had no chance against the entire group of combatant Autobots.

        "Soundwave, open the bridge. You have some digging to do."

        As the green portal opened, the Decepticon dictator contemplated ways to avenge his humiliation on this latest threat


End file.
